This invention relates generally to fluid gauging systems, and particularly to fuel gauging systems and methods in aircraft.
Fuel gauging systems in aircraft are employed to measure the quantity of fuel left in aircraft fuel tanks. Typically, aircraft fuel tanks are of differing sizes, shapes, and geometries, depending on the location of the fuel tank. For instance, fuel tanks on the wings of aircraft are complicated in shape. This complicates the calculations that must be completed to determine the amount of fuel remaining in a fuel tank. This is further complicated by the position of the aircraft: when the aircraft is in flight, the fuel is at a different position than when the aircraft is on the ground. The attitude of the aircraft and its fuel tank changes the location and height of fuel.
In the art, fuel gauging systems utilize a variety of physical probes (typically capacitive probes) to determine fuel volume in a fuel tank on an aircraft. Typically, each physical probe is designated to a certain volume area of the fuel tank. The physical probe is usually a sensor designed to determine the height of fuel with which it comes into contact. Based on where fuel “cuts” across the physical probe, the volume of that probe's area of the fuel tank can be determined.
However, physical probes are complicated sensors that are expensive to manufacture and maintain. Moreover, physical probes take up volume and mass in an aircraft fuel tank where volume and mass are limited.